Signore & signori

According to the veteran Italian film director Ettore Scola,Italian people have the intrinsic knack of ridiculing themselves long before someone else can dare to point a figure at them.For them there is hardly any human sentiment which cannot be mocked.By doing so they have remained the champions of auto derision in this world.This is one fundamental quality which distinguishes them from the other nationalities of Europe.As far as a discussion on this film goes,its English title "The birds,The bees and The Italians" does perfect justice to the spirit of the film. The entire film is a laugh riot and the best thing about the screenplay is that although the depicted situations might appear common place but they never leave any room for any kind of guess work or speculation.So the end result is an intelligent film which entertains until the maximum possible extent of human enjoyment. Even the black and white photography is advantageous as it alludes to a time when there was too little advancement of technology. Recommended for those people who would like to have a nice laugh but would not dare to copy under any circumstances the actions portrayed in the film.

"The Birds, the Bees and the Italians" is a delightful and enjoyable comedy of manners "Italian Style" with a kitschy and catchy soundtrack that sounds like a combo of Anton Karas 'Third Man' and Nino Rota's '8½' themes, the music gets stuck in your mind like melted cheese on a plate after the pasta's gone, it's both irresistible and irritating but it does serve a purpose: to give a playful resonance to a rather serious subject, too serious to be treated with solemnity, the days of neo-realism were over, comedy became the key. So the music is comedic because there's something tragicomic in the psyche and hubris of Italian society's upper strata... and something cathartic in a film that makes men's flaws laughable, if not forgivable.

Si signor, under their facade of marital respectability, conventions, white coats or gray-flannelled suits, these Italian men want to have fun, they want to have sex and for the most tragic case, they want to find true love. What have all these elements in common? They involve friends and mistresses and activities that generally do without the 'Signora', another social burden to get accommodated with. Indeed, in their ideals of escapism and fun, religion and appearances are like a jail and the wife is the chain with the ball. That the topic is treated in a lighthearted way doesn't deprive the film from the criticism regarding its male-centered version of a hedonistic life as if women didn't want to have fun too.

Still, one shouldn't get the wrong idea about it, the original title "Signore & Signori" is there to show that the film gives an equal weight to both sexes. By an interesting irony, the film will win the Golden Palm that year along with the similarly titled and more celebrated Claude Lelouch's "A Man and a Woman". Once again, the Germi's movie gives more presence to men, maybe because the director has a more acute perception of the weaknesses of his peers, but the fact that men are the main protagonists is not saying much, they all have jobs, good situations, a social importance and the debonair confidence of self-accomplishment in their 40s/50s but they're closer to "Pagliacci" figures than Roman warriors. Their ordeals are all portrayed in a way that makes us laugh with them and at them too.

The film is divided in three acts: in the first one, a man's impotence is treated like a running gag and a deserved subject of mockery (there's a nice twist at the end). Then the second story focuses on a husband who's stopped wearing the pants and endures his wife's insults and condescending comments with stoicism... and ear plugs. Though it's not fair to overlook the other actors but mentioning their names wouldn't ring a bell, they're no Mastroiannis, Tognazzis or Gassmans but their relative anonymousness for the non-expert eye gives the film a subtle touch of authenticity. However, I've got to mention Gastone Moschin who plays the most endearing figure of the film, and the most memorable. This is a tall man built like a Commendatore (he was the intimidating Fanucci in "The Godfather Part II") but who becomes Pinocchio when he's confronted to his nagging wife. The way he falls in love with the little cashier girl is adorable and sweet, almost Comedia Dell'Arte, and resisting the temptation to make the story darker than needed, Germi makes the emotional impact as effective by sticking to comedy.

The wife can be regarded as a villain in the segment but she's only good at using the system as an instrument to avenge her hurt pride, it's fair game in an arena where it's all a matter of saving the appearances, of pride after all. Another wife will punish her husband's infidelity by showing her naked body in a balcony, much to a passing driver's excitement. These outbursts of hysterical (and histrionic) anger highlight a recurring if not defining motif in the film: hypocrisy. Indeed, the worst possible thing that can happen isn't the fault itself but the lack of discretion. It's one thing to fool around, even the Carabineer will understand, but to expose it in front of everyone, in a society still dominated by Catholic Church, is just provocation.

Germi's not just peeking in the keyhole to see what's behind the good society's curtain, he literally kicks the hornet nest and reveal how in fact everything doesn't revolve around morality and principles but sex and money, pride and honor acting as smokescreens between these two worlds. And the film's final act of was the best way to wrap up this social exploration; by showing that even women can be loose-moralled after all, and not just the mistresses, that little twist at the end was the extra spice the film needed, the small revenge from the female side, the perfect device to maintain the film's savor, like when you need to add a little Parmesan cheese in the rest of spaghetti, or a drop of wine to conclude the dinner.

And so the finale takes us back to where (and how) it begun, to music and smiling faces as to reassess the detachment of the director, no hurt feelings, with bravura and a fine comedic instinct, Germi strikes as a great painter of people's morality, but not a moralist! Speaking of Fermi, it seems like there's just enough space in movie lovers' memory to contain names such as Fellini, De Sica, Antonioni, Rossellini or Visconti and it takes that little special gourmet taste to appreciate the likes of Pietro Germi, more craftsmen than artists, but maybe because they never felt overwhelmed with some sense of overly lyrical self-grandeur that they could make such down-to-earth little gems.

And here, I conclude my 1500th IMDb review.

Officially this movie contains three comic episodes, but in my opinion this is nonsense.

There are three dramatic episodes, the second in particular is of absolute sadness, while the third is deplorable.

People's lives are being destroyed by a heartless society that puts appearance first, regardless of the happiness of individuals.

The only thing you can do is surrender to this overwhelming force and accept your place in a society of falsehoods and masks.

"Ma'am, you forgot your hat...", the excellent reply of the peasant who runs to give the bra to the "distinguished" lady who had to pay something extra besides the 5 million Italian lire, to shut his mouth and convince him to withdraw his complaint about his minor daughter. It's in episode 3 of the movie which is the best. The second best is the one with Gastone Moschin's extramarital affair with the beautiful Virna Lisi. The first episode is neither great nor bad. A bunch of exceptional actors, apart from the two already named: Franco Fabrizi, Alberto Lionello, Gigi Ballista, Beba Loncar, Nora Ricci, Patrizia Valturri. Pietro Germi, great master!

The Italian Comedy of the Sixties has been internationally recognised as one of the most innovative and original cinema genres produced in that decade. This forgotten movie stands as one of the best examples of such genre. Three stories from the same bunch of middle aged guys from the North of Italy (the nice location is Treviso) are portrayed in this very enjoyable comedy. It is an almost Fellinesque movie, in the sense that it is grotesque, funny and clever at the same time. It mainly is a satire on the human relationships and the hypocrisy of people. Obviously all of this is depicted in a totally hilarious "Italian way". The actresses are simply irresistible (Virna Lisi looks awesome!), the actors very convincing, the story simply too good compared to nowadays scripts, while music, photography and direction are almost perfect. It won the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival together with "Un homme une famme". To be rediscovered. a convinced 10/10.